The rhetorical signature of Donald J. Trump

(Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania) Here we argue not simply that Trump's norm-shattering rhetoric deviates from that of his predecessors but also that his discursive patterns constitute a double-edged rhetorical identity or signature. This rhetorical signature both certified Trump's authenticity as a change candidate to a constituency eager for the disruption of politics as usual and now complicates his ability to govern in a political system still accustomed to those conventions.